Monument honoring abolition of slavery unveiled in Richmond two weeks after Robert E. Lee statue was removed
By David Williams, CNN
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Office of Governor Ralph S Northam
A monument honoring the abolition of slavery was dedicated in Richmond, Virginia, pictured here, on September 22, just two miles from where a hulking statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee once prominently stood.
Photos by SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney touched a bronze sculpture following the dedication of the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday. The figure is a newly freed man, his chains broken from his wrists.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Levitical Priests performs "Lift Every Voice and Sing", also known as the Negro National Anthem, during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Ronald Carey (from right) and Ricardo Brown looked at the new monument, which is located on Brown’s Island near the Fifth Street pedestrian bridge.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Portraits of Virginians who fought for equality are seen during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
An audience listened as the Levitical Priests performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the event in Richmond on Wednesday to unveil the monument.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney gives remarks during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Ronald Carey applauds during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Sen. Jennifer McClellan looks on along with Gov. Ralph Northam after unveiling a new monument during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Sen. Jennifer McClellan looks on as Gov. Ralph Northam embraces her during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Sen. Jennifer McClellan looks on as Gov. Ralph Northam embraces her during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
John Mitchell looks on at a new statue during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
SHABAN ATHUMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, embraces Sen. Jennifer McClellan, left, during the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission's dedication and unveil the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Brown's Island in Richmond, Virginia.
A monument honoring the abolition of slavery was dedicated on Wednesday in Richmond, Virginia, just two miles from where a hulking statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee once prominently stood.
People in the audience wore plastic ponchos or sat under large golf umbrellas for protection from the rain, which ended a few minutes before dignitaries unveiled the Emancipation and Freedom Monument.
Keep scrolling for a gallery of photos from the unveiling
The monument, featuring two 12-foot-tall statues of a man and a woman holding an infant after they were freed from slavery, honors the contributions of Black Virginians in the “centuries-long fight for emancipation and freedom,” according to the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission, which commissioned it.
The dedication comes two weeks after crews removed the 12-ton statue of Lee on his horse from its massive stone base on Richmond’s Monument Avenue.
“Our public memorials are symbols of who we are and what we value,” said Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.
He called the removal of the Lee statue “one of my proudest days” and praised Richmond officials for transforming the former capital of the Confederacy into a progressive and inclusive city.
“You know, we talk often about the need to make sure that we tell and teach the full and true story of our shared history, how we must ensure that everyone understands where we have been so we can build a more inclusive future together,” Northam said.
That includes teaching about the “horrors of slavery and the terrors of the Jim Crow era,” he said.
“But in this monument, we see a different part of the story,” Northam said. “These figures embody the power, the power of emancipation and the power of freedom.”
The monument was designed by Oregon sculptor Thomas Jay Warren, the commission’s website said.
The names of 10 Black Virginians are featured at the base of the monument — five who fought to end slavery before emancipation and five who fought for equality between 1865 and 1970.
The list includes Mary Elizabeth Bowser, who served as a Union spy in the Confederate White House, William Harvey Carney, a former slave who became the first Black Medal of Honor recipient, John Mercer Langston, Virginia’s first Black member of Congress and prominent educator Lucy Simms.
